The Berkshire Natural Resources Council (BNRC) is a non-profit land conservation

Habitat conservation

Habitat conservation is a land management practice that seeks to conserve, protect and restore, habitat areas for wild plants and animals, especially conservation reliant species, and prevent their extinction, fragmentation or reduction in range...

 and environmental

Environmental policy

Environmental policy is any [course of] action deliberately taken [or not taken] to manage human activities with a view to prevent, reduce, or mitigate harmful effects on nature and natural resources, and ensuring that man-made changes to the environment do not have harmful effects on...

 advocacy organization operating in western Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

. The organization was formed in 1967 and owns 7100 acres (2,873.3 ha) in open space reservations and holds interest on 9200 acres (3,723.1 ha) of conservation restrictions. The mission of the BNRC is "to protect and preserve the natural beauty and ecological integrity of the Berkshires for public benefit and enjoyment."

BNRC has been active in preserving natural landscape

Natural landscape

A natural landscape is a landscape that is unaffected by human activity. A natural landscape is intact when all living and nonliving elements are free to move and change. The nonliving elements distinguish a natural landscape from a wilderness. A wilderness includes areas within which natural...

s and resources on Mount Greylock

Mount Greylock

Mount Greylock is the highest natural point in Massachusetts at . Its peak is located in the northwest corner of the state in the western part of the town of Adams in Berkshire County. Although geologically part of the Taconic Mountains, Mount Greylock is commonly associated with the abutting...

, Yokun Ridge

Yokun Ridge

Yokun Ridge is a well defined ridge within the Taconic Mountains in Berkshire County, Massachusetts that principally include West Stockbridge Mountain and Lenox Mountain as well as other related features...

, and the South Taconic Range

Taconic Mountains

The Taconic Mountains or Taconic Range are a physiographic section of the larger New England province and part of the Appalachian Mountains, running along the eastern border of New York State and adjacent New England from northwest Connecticut to western Massachusetts, north to central western...

. It maintains hiking

Hiking

Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...

 trails at its Steven's Glen preserve in West Stockbridge

West Stockbridge, Massachusetts

West Stockbridge is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,416 at the 2000 census.- History :...

, Basin Pond in Lee

Lee, Massachusetts

Lee is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, metropolitan statistical area. The population was 5,943 which was determined in the 2010 census. Lee, which includes the villages of South and East Lee, is part of the Berkshires resort...

, Olivia's Lookout in Lenox

Lenox, Massachusetts

Lenox is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. Set in Western Massachusetts, it is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 5,077 at the 2000 census. Where the town has a border with Stockbridge is the site of Tanglewood, summer...

, and Bob's Way in Monterey, Massachusetts

Monterey, Massachusetts

Monterey is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 934 at the 2000 census.- History :...

. It has also been active in advocating for environmental protection and remediation of the Housatonic River

Housatonic River

The Housatonic River is a river, approximately long, in western Massachusetts and western Connecticut in the United States. It flows south to southeast, and drains about of southwestern New England into Long Island Sound...

watershed.